"I was hacked overnight!" Mr Pyne said in a 5am tweet, saying he had been asleep at 2am when the 'like' took place.

"Someone tried to hack my social media yesterday. Maybe they are making mischief over the plebiscite?"

Mr Pyne had been a vocal Yes campaign supporter, and he claimed he was hacked in retaliation to his stance.

However, some Twitter users were unconvinced, with replies to his early morning excuse ranging from "lol sure" and "come on", to "even my three-year-old knows when he's been naughty. Be accountable for your actions".

Mr Hunt's is just the latest example of questionable Twitter use by high-ranking politicians and officials.

Earlier this year, the Australian Border Force had to explain why its commissioner's official Twitter account appeared to like a pornographic tweet, while US Republican Senator and 2016 presidential candidate Ted Cruz blamed a "staffing issue" when his account liked a pornographic post in the past.